Dangerous Abusive Relationships and Sources of Resilience for South Asian Immigrant Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

This study explored South Asian immigrant women survivors’ perspectives on intimate partner relationships that could lead to severe violence or a homicide and sources of resilience for South Asian immigrant survivors in the United States. The study recruited 16 South Asian immigrant survivors for in-depth interviews and focus groups. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Survivors shared some characteristics of dangerous partner such as controlling behavior, anger issues, infidelity, alcohol and drug problems, and history of childhood abuse. Incidents of severe physical abuse, threats to kill, possession of a weapon, and suspicious behavior led survivors to feel fearful for their lives. Sources of resilience in the community (e.g., support from formal sources of help) and at the individual level (e.g., education) were discussed. The needs for culturally informed services and to generate awareness of services among South Asian immigrants were highlighted

Problems of Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language in South Yemen: A Case Study of Lahj Governorate

The task of teaching and learning English as a foreign language is not an easy task as there are many factors that may contribute positively or negatively to its success. In the context of this study, most school-leavers have very poor English, especially when looking at their oral skills. This indicates that there are some problems that EFL learning and teaching encounter, and then such problems are reflected in students’ proficiency level. This study, therefore, explored the problems encountering EFL teaching and learning in Lahj primary and secondary schools to identify such problems and suggest some solutions that may help in improving English language teaching and learning in the concerned schools. Data were collected from 32 EFL senior teachers and supervisors of Lahj governorate. Findings showed that large classes, lack of teaching aids, teachers’ low proficiency in English, teachers’ limited experience with communicative language teaching, late beginning of learning English, lack of focus on oral communicative English, use of mother tongue in classroom, students’ low motivation and interference between English and Arabic are considered as major problems encountering English language teaching and learning in the concerned South Yemeni schools and contribute negatively to students’ proficiency level. The study has provided some recommendations that may help in improving EFL teaching and learning in the concerned schools and in Yemeni schools generally

Intimate partner violence, HIV and sexually transmitted infections in fishing, trading and agrarian communities in Rakai, Uganda.

BackgroundIntimate partner violence (IPV), HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI) can contribute to disparities in population health, depending on the individual, social and environmental factors characterizing a setting. To better understand the place-based determinants and patterns of these key interrelated public health problems in Uganda, we compared risk factors for IPV, HIV and STI in fishing, trading and agrarian communities in Rakai, Uganda by gender.MethodThis study used cross-sectional data collected from 14,464 sexually active men (n = 6531) and women (n = 7933) as part of the Rakai Community Cohort Study, a population-based open cohort study of men and women aged 15-49 years. We used multilevel modified poisson regression models, which incorporated random intercepts for community and households. Factors associated with IPV, HIV and STI were assessed separately for men and women in fishing, trading and agrarian communities.ResultsA larger proportion of participants in the fishing communities than those in trading and agrarian communities were HIV positive, engaged in HIV risk behaviors, had STI symptoms and reported perpetration of or victimization by IPV. Female gender was a shared correlate of IPV, HIV and STI in the fishing communities. Engagement in multiple sexual relationships or partner's engagement in multiple relationships were shared correlates of IPV, and HIV in agrarian communities and IPV and STI in trading communities.ConclusionPrograms should target factors at multiple levels to reduce risk for syndemic conditions of HIV, STI and IPV in Rakai, Uganda particularly among men and women in fishing communities

Yemeni EFL students’ perceptions and implementation of computer-assisted language learning.

: This study investigated how Yemeni EFL students perceive computer-assisted language learning, the extent to which CALL is implemented in their learning of English in and outside their faculties and the difficulties they encounter when implementing CALL. Data were collected through a questionnaire that targeted 74 Yemeni EFL students and then analyzed by using SPSS 21st version. Results revealed that the students who participated in this study perceive CALL positively (overall mean = 4.1144 out of 5) and believe in its effectiveness in developing their language skills and making their EFL learning enjoyable and interesting. Moreover, Female students showed a higher overall positive attitude towards CALL as compared to their male counterparts and that was reflected in their implementation of CALL too. A significant correlation was also found between students’ perceptions of CALL and their computer competence in the favor of those students with higher computer competence while no significant correlation was found in relation to age. The results have also revealed that CALL’s implementation by many of the participants is still low. Unavailability of internet and lack of CALL tools at their faculty; in addition to students’ lack of computer competence are viewed as the major barriers to CALL implementation by the Yemeni EFL students understudy. As per the results, the study recommends Yemeni Universities to provide CALL tools and internet for their EFL classrooms and libraries and to train students to use technology for English learning purposes. It also recommends Yemeni EFL students to invest technology at hand for their EFL learning.

A Study of Yemeni Secondary School Students’ Article Errors in their English Writing

This study has investigated Yemeni secondary school students’ articles errors with a reference to Labooza secondary school and AL-Samood secondary school in Radfan district. Data were collected through a writing test that targeted 100 students. The results revealed that 53.6% of students’ uses of the articles were wrong. It also showed that these errors can be subdivided into article omission errors 41.79%, article addition errors 23.88%, and article substitution errors 34.32%. These errors can be attributed to two sources, namely a- interference with students’ mother tongue (interlingual interference), constituting 39.93% and b- students’ insufficient knowledge of English articles as well as poor English teaching (intralingual), constituting 60.07%. As per these findings, these study provides some recommendations to syllabi designers, teachers and students of the Yemeni secondary schools

Re-Arrest Among Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth: An Examination Of The Static And Dynamic Risk Factors

The purpose of this study is to investigate the static and dynamic risk factors for re-arrest among detained youth by examining gender, race/ethnicity, age, special education and mental health variables (i.e., anger/irritability, depression/anxiety, somatic complaints, suicide ideation, thought disturbances, and traumatic experiences). The demographic profiles of detained youth with one admit were also compared with those with multiple admits to the juvenile detention center. With regards to static risk factors, older, white, and special education were significantly at risk of re-arrest. Concerning dynamic risk factors, only anger/irritability predicted re-arrest. Practice implications are also discussed

Using Mindfulness to Improve Mental Health Outcomes of Immigrant Women with Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence

Immigrant women are disproportionately affected by intimate partner violence (IPV), which poses risk for mental health problems, such as PTSD and depression. Post-migration barriers limit immigrant women’s access to supportive services, which can further debilitate their mental health symptoms and their safety. The Being safe, Healthy, and Positively Empowered (BSHAPE) digital intervention was designed to address physical safety and healthcare needs of immigrant women through a multi-component approach that integrated mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) practices. This paper reports qualitative feedback findings from eighteen Black immigrant women with recent IPV exposure and co-occurring mental health symptoms, who participated in the mindfulness sessions of BSHAPE. We identified elements of mindfulness that women perceived as beneficial in their healing. Women’s feedback indicated healing and empowerment through positive appraisals and coping strategies. The benefits were noted for mindfulness elements promoting self-compassion, self-actualization, intentionality of moving forward in life, and developing positivity or a sense of optimism. Other helpful elements were relaxation, self-care and reflection, self-awareness, self-control and focused thinking. Our findings show that incorporating mindfulness practices in interventions can be beneficial for promoting the healing and empowerment of immigrant women in abusive relationships

Patterns of Abuse Among South Asian Women Experiencing Domestic Violence in the United States

This qualitative study was conducted with a convenience sample of 20 South Asian women experiencing domestic violence in the United States. The results explore the patterns of abuse as well as the factors and circumstances (i.e. turning points) that motivated South Asian women to change in the context of the stage that they were in as per the Landenburger model (binding, enduring, disengaging, and recovery). The four themes that emerged from the interviews and analysis are (1) ‘Timing and Frequency of abuse’, (2) ‘Methods of control – financial, isolation and suspicion’, (3) ‘Cycle of Abuse’, and (4)’ Turning Points – motivation to change’. Implications for practice and policy-level changes for abused South Asian women in the United States are discussed